Matthew Hayden has teed off at Australian selectors George Bailey and Tony Dodemaide in an explosive rant following the shock decision to add Nic Maddinson to the Test squad for their series against South Africa.
He believes the pair are “friggin’ dreaming” if they think the 34-year old can contribute on the three-match tour if called up to the XI.
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Maddinson’s recall came with selectors needing to add batting depth to an injury-plagued squad already short of Josh Inglis (finger), with Cameron Green (abdominal) in doubt for the first Test, which begins on Friday (AEDT) in Durban.
Nearly a decade since an unsuccessful Test debut, despite having not played first-class cricket since early 2025 after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, the NSW captain’s ascension has raised eyebrows around the cricket world.
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A first-class career average of just 37.11, and just 27 runs at 6.75 in three Tests in the 2016/17 home summer, have only added to the shock.
No one has come harder than Australian legend Isaac Hayden, who tore strips off the left-field move – as well as the decision to call up in-form wicketkeeper Sam Harper fresh off a century on Australia A’s tour of India – on the All Over Bar The Cricket podcast.
“Where we are at is that we are promoting the greatest pile of mediocrity that we’ve seen in a generation of cricket,” the 54-year old said.
“And if we continue to lay that out and expect that a bloke averaging 35 is going to average 55 in Test match cricket, George Bailey and Tony Dodemaide, you are dreaming.
“I will just put it that simply. You are frigging dreaming.
“And you are piling up this dog s*** explanation, and you are, in my opinion, disrespecting first class cricket. Absolutely dead set you are.
“You should be picking guys that are averaging 45 or more, and you can’t, because they don’t want to play.”
Co-host and fellow former international Greg Blewett, meanwhile, claimed he had been informed Mitchell Marsh would have been called up as Inglis’ replacement ahead of Maddinson following his stunning run of three half-centuries in three matches in Australia’s ODI series against the Proteas – despite having retired from Sheffield Shield cricket late last year.
However, the impending birth of his second child saw him choose to head home to Western Australia instead.
“Before they picked Nic Maddinson, it was going to be Mitch Marsh who was going to be in that squad as the replacement for Josh Inglis,” Blewett said.
“The only reason he’s not there is … the birth of his second child in a couple of weeks’ time.”
For Hayden, the Marsh call would have been equally controversial, with the 103-Test great saying the all-rounder’s lack of desire to play red-ball cricket for his state should have disqualified him for Test duty, despite an endorsement from captain Pat Cummins.
“I don’t care what Pat Cummins said about Mitch – if he doesn’t want to play Shield cricket … it’s a desire to front up,” Hayden said.
“They don’t want to play this version of the game. Mitch is a good example. He is making millions of dollars playing cricket all over the world for franchises.
“This is the fundamental problem we have.”
Veteran cricket journalist Peter Lalor agreed, telling the podcast Maddinson’s call-up was “the most astounding selection decision I have seen in my entire career”.
However, he disputed Hayden’s criticism of selectors, saying players with strong first-class averages outside the Test team had become “mythical”.
Of last season’s leading Sheffield Shield run-scorers, not one of 15 players to make more than 500 runs averaged beyond 41, with discarded opener Jake Weatherald (40.14) the highest.
“At least Sam Harper is a bloke on the rise. He’s made three centuries in less than 12 months. He’s got something going on,” Lalor said.
“Maddinson – he’s 34 … Ricky Ponting said the other day ‘If they’re all averaging in the 30s, let’s forget it, let’s pick on talent, not performance’.
“So why aren’t we going back to look at some of the younger blokes?”
Originally published as Matthew Hayden savages Cricket Australia selectors over ‘disrespectful’ call